Great game. This game is a lot of fun to play. Each side has it challenges. You have to have a technique to play each side. Easy to learn. Playing 1805 is always different from the game before in large part due to the weather.

Picked up at WBC. Played a day later. Great game and a unique game. Very interesting game of cat and mouse. Took about 6 hours to play 1/2 of the campaign game. Gives a really good feel for the strategic naval war in 1805. Great initiative chit dynamic. Long periods of shuffling ships and then great drama in the big naval battles. Highly recommend.

I need to play this more! Not many operational naval games in this setting. A very fascinating peek into the difficulties that faced France and England during this period, in terms of the strategic naval war.

Love the game, dripping with theme. A lot of rules to learn, however, and a long play time, make it hard for me to get to the table.

Rating is a preliminary one pending a chance to play it [having read the rules online]. Map ended up looking very nice although I wish the blue didn't have that weird texture. Other components up to the usual GMT quality. Rules are well written, made sense on the first read through. I look forward to trying a game at which point I will update the review.

This wargame really captures the history of the period. A lot of cat and mouse action with the search attempts and Fog of War blocks.Battles are fairly easy to understand with a run through but you are faced with many options and dilemmas. Many small details to remember but they all add to the history...and enjoyment..of the game. 9/11/12 Updated my rating from 8 to 9. No loss in interest after almost a year of on/off play of same game. CXontinues to be very thematic; a simulation but not so much so that play is not enjoyable.

Wonderful subject, Great game mechanics and components, super online support My only gripe would be that the rules seem a little unfinished and at times disjointed and confusing almost like the developers decided 3 months before the game was sent to print that it was "Good Enough" and never did a final polish and indexing. This is something that has been popping up in GMT’s games recently in a sort of hit and miss fashion. Case in point Elusive Victory’s rules are very well done. Still after a little confusion while reading through the rules we were able to figure out with the help of Phil’s online tutorial videos the right way to play and dove right it. The game plays very well both FtF and using Vassal, the very well designed module (by Rob Doane) was available before 1805 SoG reached anyone’s doorstep. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS GAME

A creative game using hidden blocks to add a necessary dose of fog of war in its engine. The result, coupled with the integration of the diverse winds, activation chits and preplanned destination, makes for a very entertaining simulation of the naval campaign of 1805.

Although long and complex this is a game to sink your teeth into. It has good FoW and evokes the era well. You DO need a lot of room and time, but the effort is worth while. Recommended, but not to be taken lightly.

Great game. After watching a couple demo's and sitting in on a multiplayer game, learning the rules was a snap! Up and running quickly and smoothly. System should allow infinite replayablity. Gourgeous game with high quality compontents. Kudos to GMT and Phil Fry!

Had a chance to play ftf. Play went smoothly and quick. Very few references to the rules. Just wish I could get that storm-init-right wind combo to hit now. muhahahaha

Played multiple sittings on vassal now. Game works very well over vassal w/ ventrillo. Still love it.

An amazing naval warfare game. The French/Spanish have to plan carefully to hit the British hard and avoid being chewed up piecemeal. The British "simply" have to guess correctly and not overcommit to meaningless engagements. Tension on both sides! Mechanics flow into a beautifully presented gaming situation.

This is a great game. The first couple times we played we messed up a critical rule that wasn't in the rulebook but was answered by the designer. There are a lot of rules to digest and I did get confused at times if something was supposed to apply and found myself constantly referring to the rulebook. Fog of War is great - lots of bluffing involved - and I really like the combat system.

'In Russia all roads lead to Moscow. One chooses the road one wishes. Charles XII chose the road through Poltava.'

8

Nov 2011

1805 is a great simulation and a good game. Give it a try if your interested in an operational age of sail game. I almost didn't because of the negative reviews on the game that are quite off-putting (long, tedious etc.) This is a long game (the campagn takes a day or two to play) but it's also historically accurate and very exciting, not tedious at all!

This is an intriguing game. The only flaw (for me) is the overly dark print run on the game map. I've gone to the trouble of reworking the map with lighter colors so I can more easily read the thing while playing. The game tends to be too good a simulation of blockade naval warfare, with long periods of time where both sides are locked in Sitzkrieg, waiting to make a move. But once a move is made, it is quite exciting to chase the French across the ocean. If you can leave the game set up over a period of time, both players can take their time making thoughtful moves. The combat system in which players give orders for the sail state of their fleets as well as the type of wind-driven maneuvers is very innovative and is great fun.

There is lots for both players to do, with multiple paths to victory or defeat. Having read about many of the ancilliary actions/operations (much more happened than just Trafalgar), I was delighted to find all these options available to both players! Not an easy game to get into (IMHO), but very rewarding once it "clicks". Definitely of more interest to a fan of the period or history of the era, it is a very long game... better plan for at least two solid game sessions to complete it though.

This is a very cleverly designed game and the designer has been successful in creating gameplay that evokes the Napoleonic naval era. If you have some patience this game will reward you with an intriguing experience. If you are playing the British you are trying to blockade the Allied fleet, and when he sorties out catch him with Nelson and the big three deckers. If you are playing the Allies you will be biding your time, watching the movement of the British and attempting to sneak out of your ports to complete your missions. A very unique game that takes some dedication but is a lot of fun. Recommended, but you need a great deal of patience and an interest in the subject matter.

Great game but very long. The tension when the enemy have successfully sortied is a nightmare and likewise the sense of dread when you are sortieing and trying to avoid being clobbered by British fleets.

I described it as a battle of heavy weight against welter weight. The welter weight can dance and jab but if the heavy weight lands a blow or two it will end the bout... Which is why the feeling of dread when you are found by an English fleet is a real feel it your heart in your toes moment.

Could do with a pass option to speed turns after heavy actions when often there will be no action nor any likelihood of action (save shuffling damaged blockaders and the like). Perhaps sonething like that in Rommel in the Desert- pass? Yes. Pass? Yes. proceed to admin phase. With each question pair getting more difficult as reinforcements and supplies flow in (will he this time? should I) And with weather done by chart than chit.

Finally got a chance to play this gem FtF at GMT West. I thoroughly enjoyed the chit pull system. Which IMHO creates a real simulation that I am attracted too. I had FUN and found the design to be quite brilliant. Going to play some VASSAL games now.

Solid game, I love the historical situation and the designers attempt to recreate it. I cannot give it a higher rating based on mechanics and play. Many turns can pass before heated activity occurs. This is simply not everyone's 'cup of tea' so to speak. For those 'into' the Age of Sail then maybe a "9" rating is an automatic!

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The Coat of Arms of Clan Montgomery - Scotland. Yes, that's a woman with the head of a savage in her hand, and an anchor. No clue what it means, but it's cool.

7.2

Jan 2010*

Only played the Trafalgar Scenario so far. It was a very interesting little game. Can't wait to try the Campaign Game this Friday.

UPDATE 12/06/2009: I am about half way through my first full game (a friend and I are playing the campaign through various sessions). So far, the game will be chalked up as a learning game; the British player failed to start off his expeditions early, and the French failed to be as aggressive as they probably should have been the first few turns of the game. All in all, my original assessment holds true, and I like this game for what it is: a very well-thought-out treatment of operational naval warfare in the Age of Sail.

Some caveats: (1) The rulebook does have some problems--the designer has even posted answers to questions stating "this is the rule, but it didn't make it into the rulebook" which I find very frustrating. (2) The game's time limitations have not held out very well--six hours for the campaign game seems very, very generous. My opponent and I have had two sessions and are barely half-way through the year. All-told, maybe 7-8 hours of actual play time over a total of 10-12 hours of meeting (we stop for lunch, and to talk, and to do rule look-ups, etc). Assuming that we are playing at half speed, that's still a 7-8 hour time frame for the campaign, and that is being generous. (3) The British apparently will never lose a toe-to-toe fight. Run away as the Allies unless you've got close to a two-to-one numerical (firepower) advantage.

I'll revise my ratings after the conclusion of the game.

UPDATE 01/03/2010: Finished the game and posted various rules questions here at BGG as the game was being played. Also started a strategy thread. I liked the game quite a bit and would like to play it again, but there are definitely some strategy tips that the English player needs prior to wasting his time playing the first game (the English are the more challenging side to play for inexperienced players). Looking forward to another play, but my local opponent, alas, was not as taken with the system as I was (he played the English). Cheers.

UPDATE 05/11/2014: Played the "A Change of Plans" scenario with Alan Richbourg (chargetheguns) via PBEM. A fun, quick game that I really enjoyed. I won the game, but it was primarily due to really horrible rolling on the Allied side. The French were walloped twice in two battles at the end, but it was not enough to tilt the points scoring in the Allied favor.

Finally! A game that shows just _why_ a blockade of the French and Spanish during the Napoleonic Wars was such a herculean, important, and difficult task. Most books and games simply point to the size and professional zeal of the Royal Navy during the period as the obvious reasons for their superiority and why France and Spain would be fools to go up against them. This game shows that the tremendous resources and organization necessary to maintain the navy were needed as much to withstand the weather as much as to fight the enemy.

But this game goes many steps further and reveals what the Spanish and French were capable of (or what the Royal Navy at least feared they were capable of) if they ever managed to break Britain's hold. As importantly, it shows how weather alone would simply wear down a blockading force to the point of weakness and allow the Allies the opportunity to sortie. It is no wonder that the British invested so much in material and manpower just to keep the blockade in effect: it was cheaper than if the Allied navies were allowed to sail free. Likewise, why the Allies so often stayed in port: weather is the cheapest and most effective ally in battling the blockaders.

As well as the game succeeds in those particulars, the map and play aids I thought were a let-down. 90% of the map is oriented to the person sitting at the bottom. The map itself is quite dark and the hexes for port entry are a bit hard to discern. The Port displays on the map are also unnecessarily elaborate and overly large. The game also requires a large foot print once the map is down and the 17x11 player-aids are spread out. The chit pool I would rather have seen as a deck that is shuffled and cards flipped each turn. IOW, the components are fine, but their design is a bit of a barrier to play.